Joss Whedon on why Avengers: Age of Ultron addresses the cost of destruction

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

If you saw AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON this weekend, and the box office returns indicate you probably did, you likely noticed multiple scenes in the film that address the potential casualties as a result of Ultron’s actions as well as those of the Avengers themselves. This is a stark contrast to the events in both MAN OF STEEL and THE AVENGERS, two films criticized in different ways for the way they tackled the civilian body count in their respective scenes of city-wide destruction.

In an interview with Vulture, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON director Joss Whedon responded to why they felt it was necessary to represent the carnage responsibly.

“Absolutely, yes. Something that Kevin and I talked about from the start was that we’d seen a little bit of a trend in movies where the city gets destroyed and the heroes say, ‘We won!’ And I’m thinking, Define ‘win.’ [AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON] gets back to what’s important, which is that the people you’re trying to protect are people. We knew that we wanted to play with a lot of big, fun destruction, but at the same time, we wanted to say, ‘There’s a price for this.’ So we got very specific about it, because whether the Avengers are heroes or not is called into question in this movie, or whether the hero as a concept is still useful for society. It sort of becomes the central issue in the final battle, and it’s also a good way for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to be put at a disadvantage.”

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON definitely drives this point home which makes the stakes in the sequel feel very different than in the last film. Indications from the BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE trailer are that Zack Snyder‘s sequel will also respond to this same question in it’s own way. So, the next time you think that filmmakers are not listening to audience feedback, keep Whedon’s words in mind.

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON is now playing.